Still Prepping...

As part of my nesting madness, I'm trying to tie up every loose end I can think of, knowing my brain is about to fall out when this baby arrives. These efforts have resulted in some notable triumphs and failures - plus lots of fun with the kids we already have...

Let's start with a triumph: After living with a crack in our kitchen countertops for the past 4 years, I finally decided it was time to look into fixes. I called 1-800-CORIAN to see who they'd recommend. Turns out, there's a 10-year warranty on Corian IF you can prove the installer was certified. So, I started the hunt with our HOA property manager, then the Franklin Register of Deeds, then the builder (Drees), and finally back at DuPont. The end result? Our home was officially 10 years old on June 5, 2012 -- and I was calling on June 15. The reason it's a triumph? The warranty is good until the end of the last month -- 6 days from now. The bottom line: They're fixing it for free!

Next, a little cool refreshment: Because we can find any excuse for a little ice cream - in this case at Sonic celebrating the new bunks...

Some manual labor: Even Josh (seeing my productivity) said maybe I need to get pregnant more often. ;) Lately, I've been mostly cleaning inside and hiring help for outside (painter for windows, mason for steps, roofer for...well, you get the idea), but I've also been utilizing some little hands that seem pretty excited about the new chore chart (and accompanying nickels).

Here Noah is just pitching in to finish what the professional masons left "undone" when they re-mortared our front steps.

Headed to the mailbox (one of Noah's real chores).

To justify another party:

The grand opening of a local candy store = free sugar = we're there, baby.

Work hard, play harder:

Noah has always been into tiny toys and big imagination...

Aaron is our rock-and-roller. Someday, he'll be thanking us for living in music city.

 And know when to cry uncle:

Our sweet 2-yr-old is strategically resistant to potty-training. He'll sit on the toilet anytime, anywhere, but refuses to put anything in there. Instead, he holds it till bedtime and his beloved diaper. Even his adoration of chocolate could not hold sway against diaper-love. When I told him "Poo-poo in potty first, then chocolate!" He replied, "No chocolate." So, we're gonna take a few months off, have a baby, and then revisit at a future date.

Because there are more important things than poo-poo:

And we just can't wait to hold one of them.

Father's Day 2012

We spent last weekend living it up with "Daddy" -- celebrating Josh's favorite day of the year with a tour de force of summer fun, starting with some cards from his mini-mes...

Me: What does Daddy like to do when he's not at work? Noah: "Play with me and Aaron." Bingo.

 

We spent the morning at Donut Den and the Apple Store, though it wasn't all about food. We came home with a nice, big white box that will make it easier for Daddy to work from home - something we can all get excited about!

Some friends gave us tickets to the The Sound of Music (a live musical staged at our local Franklin Theatre). It was Noah's first time in a real theater, and he ate it up: popcorn, lemonade, gummy bears -- and of course the music...and soldiers.

We finished the weekend at our neighborhood pool - one of my favorite places when I can manage to get us in all of our sunscreened, suited, floatie-clad and snack-totin' glory down the block...

While it was a fun weekend, it really wasn't necessary to be reminded that Josh is so great at juggling the attention of two adoring boys. I cannot tell you how thankful I am to be welcoming another child together. Happy Father's Day, dear!

Early Summer Update

I've been having tech issues for months now, limiting my access to our pictures and making it harder to post updates about the kids. If you're a family member on withdrawal, hopefully you're also on Facebook, which is much easier for me to update. Either way, here are some snapshots of our precious kiddos as they get ready to turn 5, 3, and...0.

They really are best friends in a brotherly way, which often involves tackling, no matter the setting. Amazing how quickly they figured out how to wrestle in the front seat of a grocery cart...

Aaron is in school every other day, plus our summer schedule has been pretty erratic, so I've done a very half-hearted job of introducing the potty to this sweet boy. Which is why I have to take some of the credit for his love of diapers - and begging me to put them back on his cute little behind...

Our third child is still pumping me full of nesting motivation, so I've been busy painting the playset, mulching the beds, reorganizing closets, filing & shredding, and most recently packing our hospital bag with brand new sleep clothes which I bought, at the mall, all alone (amazing!). I'm relishing that we're in the home stretch -- just 7 more weeks till we get to meet our newest family member!!

We hit the neighborhood pool at least once a week for Noah's swim lessons with a really fun instructor (thank you Aunt Christina!). He's making great progress, but mostly I'm just thrilled the boys love the water almost as much as I do.

We don't know exactly how this little man stays so little, as he's our first and last to eat on any occasion. Josh and I have found time and again since they were each born that Noah would rather play than eat (Josh's son) while Aaron would rather eat than play (my son). It's one of the few ways they are nearly opposite, though you'd never guess it from looking at the skinny-minnies.

The boys have a wonderful mother-daughter team of sitters who bring fun and love in spades - not to mention a kid-brother/playmate (good practice!). A couple weeks ago, they spent the morning excavating their toys from a sheet of ice. Who knows? Some day, we may be visiting them on Antarctica, and it'll be all the Gilmans' fault. ;)

We all love visitors, but Noah is especially eager for playdates, so he has been ecstatic to have some of our dear friends "sleep over" this spring (Yea Gimples! Andersons! Southerns!) - or more accurately, their kids sleeping over.

They really do hang on his every word or deed. No matter how much time he spends with us, they crave more. It's sweet and gut-wrenching all at once.

Noah wrapped up a great year at Mustard Seed with Ms. Elda and Ms. Elaine, who he already misses. Grateful he has one more year in this nurturing environ before he heads out into the big bad... I mean, before he starts kindergarten. ;)

In just the last couple months, Aaron has fallen in love with his blanket. He's always been a great snuggler, but it's pretty adorable to see him cuddling with this square yard of softness.

We've also gotten to see our girls cousins a couple times in the last month, and I think it has done our budding chauvinist a world of good to see how much he loves playing with them -- almost as much as he worships his boy cousins.

This year, Noah has decided he is part artist - probably not unrelated to his cousins' blossoming art skills. He was recently decorating his teacher's thank-you notes when he described the scene to Josh:  

Josh: Nice tree!
N: I'm gonna draw a coyote...
Josh: Ok.
N: ...peeing on the tree.

My mother's-day card. Love.

We've spent the last month passing around a cold that thankfully only affected each boy for about 3 days. But during those overlapping days, it was touching to see their solidarity. They were also both baffled that I couldn't just fix them immediately, though Aaron did often ask me to kiss the boo-boos in the back of his mouth and seemed a bit miffed that I opted out.

Bunk beds (thanks Grandma and Papa!)! After months of debate and research, we finally decided to give it a shot, so Saturday was Aaron's first night out of the crib and Noah's first on a top bunk. Josh spent the day assembling the beds & stairs while I moved out Noah's most fragile toys, coached Aaron on the ins-and-outs of big-boy-beds, and prayed they would get some sleep. To my everlasting relief, they have loved being together and have stayed mostly on schedule! NOW, we're really ready for a new little person to take up residence in the nursery! Hurray!

Becoming a Mother of Three

Monday, this baby will be 32 weeks along. It's one of my favorite milestones in pregnancy, because it means the baby can be born anytime and the rate of morbidity/mortality (by the time they're two) is the same as being born at 40 weeks. It's an awesome relief.

AND it means we're getting close!

I am really enjoying this pregnancy. I have experienced the gamut of side-effects, from the glorious nesting (my house has NEVER been this organized) to the inglorious hemorrhoids (TMI?), but they are all elevated by my certainty that they are a privilege. Now that I've done this twice before, I have a much better understanding of the outcome, and what an incredible, explosive, unfolding miracle it is. I am also more confident that this child will be good for us, that we can be good for him/her, and that I can enjoy the adventure that comes with a new life.

That confidence does not just come from experience so much as it comes from a deepening knowledge of the God who made us and loves us and is working for our good. Lately, God has surrounded me with messages about my identity and how it is...

1) Not a static thing that must be protected, but something to be molded and changed by Him and those around me (Loving the Little Years, Stepping Heavenward, this Scott Sauls sermon),

2) Not defined by my appetites or enhanced by self-gratification (the last section in this Gospel Coalition blog post, this Scott Sauls sermon, among others) 

3) Only comfortable and enjoyable when eclipsed by His identity (Romans 12, this Tim Keller podcast, this Scott Sauls sermon, among others)

Our culture is obsessed with each person's right to pursue happiness by fulfilling his/her desires without guilt or shame. It's the worst kind of lie because it plays on and multiplies our weaknesses. Yet each week, I feel myself slipping back into that way of thinking. Each week, God gets my attention again. Because we both know I cannot go there and do motherhood (or anything else) well. As soon as I forget Christ in my every day, I become a selfish ball of appetites, struggling for my own way and parenting like a 2-year-old.

My new favorite book on motherhood, Loving the Little Years by Rachel Jankovic, has been an instrumental boost in this department. I started reading it after my first trimester, when 12 weeks of nausea had fueled my selfishness and entitlement to the point that I was really struggling to kick that mindset. I have been tempted to quote it so many times, but it's impossible to do her ideas justice in 2-3 sentences. Better yet, the book is only 102 pages long, so you might as well just read it. She says everything I would love to say here, but I'm still trying to learn and apply it myself.

In the meantime, I am loving these little weeks that count down to our big day. And on most days, I look to the arrival of our new bundle of needs and joys and cries with the confidence that God has led us here, and He will give me the grace and support to be the mother of three, if I will just let Him.

Note: If you need a good dose of parental inspiration and don't yet have Rachel's book, read this letter of encouragement to new parents. It's a gem.